Antero Resources Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AR)

Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 19,720 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 278% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,218 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Antero Resources from $37.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Antero Resources from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Antero Resources from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Antero Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.13.

Insider Activity at Antero Resources

In other news, insider Yvette K. Schultz sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.24, for a total transaction of $1,262,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 248,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,268,682.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Resources

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 1,311.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 960 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Antero Resources in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 35.1% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Antero Resources by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,012 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Antero Resources by 382.1% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares in the last quarter. 83.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Antero Resources Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of AR stock opened at $28.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 143.55 and a beta of 3.33. Antero Resources has a 52-week low of $20.10 and a 52-week high of $36.28.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The oil and natural gas company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $978.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.20 million. Antero Resources had a return on equity of 0.45% and a net margin of 1.88%. On average, analysts predict that Antero Resources will post 0.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Antero Resources

Antero Resources Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the development, production, exploration, and acquisition of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and oil properties in the United States. It operates in three segments: Exploration and Development; Marketing; and Equity Method Investment in Antero Midstream.